HELICAP - Allergy Journey Study

For families with allergic children navigating the healthcare system can be particularly complex, requiring numerous consultations that are often accompanied by worries and fears. Effective management of allergies requires not only medical treatment but also a comprehensive understanding of patient journeys (Abrams 2020; Carrascosa et al. 2021; Diwakar et al. 2017). While there is a growing body of research on patient journeys across various diseases, little is known about the journey from symptom recognition to diagnosis and treatment in childhood allergies (Lozinsky et al. 2015). Previous studies have mainly focused on specific allergies, such as atopic dermatitis, highlighting gaps between recommendations and real-world implementation (Carrascosa et al. 2021; Fishbein et al. 2020; Gerner et al. 2021; Roustán et al. 2024; Peng et al. 2022). Parental health literacy (HL) plays a crucial role in managing chronic conditions in children, with higher HL associated with better disease management (Zaidman et al. 2023). Clear and sensitive communication from healthcare professionals (HPs) is essential to reduce the demands on parents' HL (Schillinger 2021; Paasche-Orlow et al. 2006). However, HPs often struggle to assess their patients' HL accurately (Stock et al. 2021) and adapt their communication strategies accordingly (Griffeth et al. 2022) (Sommoggy et al. 2022). This gap underscores the need to investigate the allergy journey independently of specific allergies while considering parental HL. Therefore, the "Allergy Journey Study" aims to map the patient journeys of families with allergic children. Additionally, the study will explore the role of individual health literacy (HL) and healthcare professionals' (HPs) HL-sensitive communication concerning these journeys.